Tribe Backfield Hurting More

Keen Very Doubtful With Sprained Knee

October 19, 1994|By DAVE FAIRBANK Daily Press

WILLIAMSBURG — William and Mary's injury-depleted offensive backfield has become even thinner.

Running back Troy Keen, the No. 2 rusher in the Yankee Conference, is very doubtful for Saturday's 3 p.m. game against James Madison, and quarterback Shawn Knight is ``50-50'' to start, coach Jimmye Laycock said Tuesday.

Keen suffered a sprained knee with five minutes left in the Tribe's 23-14 loss to Massachusetts. He left the game after rushing for 122 yards, his fifth 100-yard game of the season, and two touchdowns.

Laycock said Keen's knee injury would not require surgery, but did not know when he would be available to play again.

Keen, a 5-foot-9, 210-pound junior, has rushed for 831 yards and 10 touchdowns.

He will be replaced by junior Derek Fitzgerald, a 1,000-yard rusher last season who has progressed slowly after off-season knee surgery.

Fitzgerald, 5-7 and 185 pounds, has rushed for 184 yards in a limited role this season.

``He's a lot better now than he was at the beginning of the season,'' Laycock said. ``He's made a lot of progress. He's a lot more confident. From what I see in practice, I don't really see anything different'' from last season.

``I'm sure there would be a degree of confidence he would need to establish in order to maybe turn himself loose, and that won't happen until he gets extended snaps.''

Knight, who sprained his right ankle Oct. 1 against Virginia, played two series in the fourth quarter against UMass as the Tribe tried to spark its struggling offense. His mobility still limited, he was 0-for-4 and was intercepted by Tony Williams, who returned it for the game-clinching touchdown.

``He was all right to play eight snaps Saturday,'' Laycock said. ``That's probably as many as he could have played. He wasn't at full speed, obviously, in those eight snaps.

``We'll see how it progresses this week, and hopefully, it'll get better. I don't know if it's just one of those types of things - with certain injuries, you see a lot of improvement early and then it kind of levels out, and then stays at one plateau for a while before it moves to the next one. I just don't know.''